His Devoted Prince
by Asphin
Summary: Things don't always go as planned for a Hylian like Link- you'd expect as much, having the choice of Hyrule's fate brought down upon your shoulders. Fortunately, there seems to be a beloved Zora that, in coincidence, is able assist the hero through the both psychological and physical pains his burden costs him. {One of my first fanfics, I apologize in advance for errors.}
1. Prologue

_"Yah!"_ , The blonde grunted, tugging on his newfound mount's black, silky hairs. He had not registered the horse at a stable (Nor did he intend to), but there was no need to- he simply wanted to get across Carok Bridge's field quickly without the strain of walking himself.

It wasn't like him to stray from his unwavering selflessness, always pushing to prioritize everyone's safety and well-being before his own.

 _Did he even care about himself?_

The thought clouded in his mind as he pondered in a mental haze, before it was abruptly put to an end by his steed's blood-curdling cry. Link immediately patted his right hand onto the horse's brown coat in attempt to calm it from whatever startled it.

 _Oh._

It was not until he lifted his gaze from his hands to the very horizon that the hero saw the first plank of Carok Bridge mere inches ahead. Leaving no moment to take in the gorgeous (yet terrifying) sight, he leaped off of the mare to study the surface's durability. He reached out his leg, guarded by Zora Greaves, and eventually entrusted his entire (yet quite light) body weight onto the wood. _Nothing,_ he happily noted. Although the seemingly endless pit below the bridge did slightly intimidate him, he knew crossing it would more conveniently get him where he wanted.

With a soft groan of pain escaping his thin lips, he mounted the horse yet again, his torso aching from all of the movement required earlier that day...

 _~*Flashback*~_  
 _Loud roars. Loud, loud roars._

 _Moblins._

 _The large monsters typically weren't a problem for him, but with the amount chattering above Link's hidden spot, it certainly would be. His only solution was a sneaky attack of ruthless archery._

 _Drawing out a Knight's Bow from his back, Link steadied a bomb arrow at the oblivious scene before him. Sparks from the arrow tickled at his cheeks as he scruched his nose in scrutiny and focus. Then, the worst situation was brought forth to reality._

 _A blue Bokoblin nearly fell off his lookout in shock and blew the infamous horn. He'd been spotted._

 _The Bokoblin was nothing but a blur as he swiftly changed his attention back to the Moblins, who were already lumbering towards him with clubs and spears adorned with bones. Panic coursed through his body; whether or not he was sure his actions were rational, he kept his arrow at aim while taking steps back as fast as his legs could take him. His breathing arose to something close to hyperventilating, exhaling shakily in anxious patience for the right moment to shoot._

 _A black Moblin was notably the fastest of the three- given to be his primary target, Link tried to aim the bomb arrow at its snout. His grip was just too shaky. He bit his bottom lip harshly and decided to shoot anyway, but the rising sun replaced his sight and caused him to mistakenly launch the bomb arrow over his head and behind him._

 _Confusion was added to the fierce concoction of fear in his mind. His questions were answered in the most brutal way possible._

 _Link frantically searched the ground, eventually finding the stone that tripped him in the few seconds he had to recollect himself. He could already smell the smoke dancing from the distant undergrowth that the blonde accidentally shot. Finally, he looked straight ahead, not too surprised to see the black Moblin with its club held upwards in anticipation to strike. The two blues behind it only watched with eager eyes. Link was almost too dazed from his fall and panic to roll to the side in time- Almost. Using his legs to gain momentum, he lunged himself to his feet, holding his Knight's Bow. Yet this time, he had drawn a different arrow- an Ancient Arrow._

 _It was quite obvious that such a thing was his last resort. He hated to be so wasteful, but he had no hope within any loophole. All the Champion heard in the flurry of adrenaline and movement was the arrow's aura, and the three Moblins' later vanished cries of defeat. He was not new to the old Sheikah technology's power- he had once used one by mistake instead of a normal arrow and watched a Lizalfos disappear in a flash of blue light, not leaving a single trace of its existence behind. Nonetheless, he was thankful of his predicament's conclusion and sloppily slouched to the grassy surface._

 _An arrow skimmed his side, tearing his Champion Tunic's delicate fabric. Link cried out in agony- glancing behind him, he could spot the arrow caked with his blood- it was a miracle it did not remain in his side. He simultaneously whipped around and held a hand to the wound, suddenly recalling his error. The blue Bokoblin that had noticed him had a bow the entire time, and Link failed to recognize it. Link failed to even guess. Link_ _ **failed**_ _._

 _The boy refused to engage in combat and, reluctantly, retreated to the shelter of a would-be structure, now reduced to rubble. Releasing a grip on his left hip he saw a small pool of blood painfully forced against his tunic; but, why would he pay mind to it?_

 _Why would be pay mind to something he_ _ **deserved**_ _?_

 _Link grunted and craned his neck to the afternoon sky. His body was growing numb from both the wound and his panic's aftershock. Once again, he ignored it, through clenched fists and knitted brows. According to his Sheikah Slate, he had to cross Carok Bridge in order to advance on his chosen path. No time to rest. The Champion's emotionless blue stare wandered to the gathering of horses in the distance- Forcing himself to rise quickly, he set his focus on his future mount._

 _~*Flashback End*~_

...That didn't matter; nothing else but Calamity Ganon mattered. He pulled a strand of the horse's mane once more and bared its first hesitant steps across the planks in deep thought.


	2. 1- A Hero's Decline

It took some time for Link's prudence to properly match with the horse's. His blue eyes were squinted into tiny ocean's orbs that nearly mirrored his clothes, as his hands soon found themselves winding between his blonde locks of hair. During his painstaking efforts to make the horse proceed onto the bridge, he had draped a grey Hylian Hood over his head to prevent any discomforts from the declining temperature.

By the time the two reached Carok Bridge's final planks, he made desperate, impossible reaches to his destination with his arms. He was _so_ close. The Champion's now peevish demeanor brought a new sensation to his consciousness, something he might have felt 100 years ago.

Impatience.

This etching feeling was indeed not pleasant- feet yearned to touch the glory of _surface_ , no longer enjoying its freedom in a dangling state. Hands wished to _fight_ , to charge into battle with whatever spear, claymore, arrow- _anything_ he possessed.

Basically, he just wanted to get off this Hylia-forsaken horse.

A heavy sigh dropped his figure lower, making him seem quite relaxed. But 'relaxed' was a word yet to be of record in Link's encyclopedia. His form tensed as he darted to the path's remnants; the corners of his mouth strung upward in a somewhat awkward fashion. A smile. Something seldom-seen in the Champion's life, but understandable. He was driven to an almost insane mentality upon that horse, cursing himself for choosing what was undoubtedly the slowest choice possible. Yet even in the boy's self-detriment, his wound had some time to heal- minimally. This never stopped him from calling out his laziness, however.

 _'Goodbye, go find another traveler to pest with your snail's pace,'_ Link wished he could remark to his former assist. The mare simply looked into his eyes with curious black beads. This only made his awaiting sympathy sprout at last as he reached into his bag, fishing out a few apples. He dropped them in a clustered pile at his feet, slowly luring the horse to, through Link's hesitation, a treat. The mare surprisingly complied; with a soft neigh of content, it trotted forward to retrieve its reward. Link watched in a virtually blank stare. The bond he made with this horse was unwavering and could not be broken. In disbelief, the Champion spun around on his heel and tried to storm away.

Large hooves padded along and halted as the Hylian did.

Link shoved a palm to his forehead, turning around again to shake his head in conquer. It was too late- this horse was doomed to belong to him. Supposing it would need a name, Link reflected on his recent thoughts towards it. Comparing its speed to a snail oddly stuck out to him... So be it.

Its name was Snail.

Yet Link could not speak, he figured having a steed's recognition other than dry insults would rest better in his memory. In addition, Snail probably will never get a chance to know it was even named- hence its apparent lack of benefit. But Link didn't mind. Now knowing that Snail would endlessly follow his footsteps, he proceeded down the path, enveloped in an embrace of doubt and brooding emotion. It was a long cycle of the Hylian's half-lidded eyes drifting north, east, and west-ward along the path within his sort of trance. The clanks of metal weaponry among his back, the rattling of leaves against an intensifying breeze- they were but subtle backgrounds in a scenery of nullity. He did not trouble himself with the consideration of his own degrading condition, rather what he felt was justified to harm him further. Rightfully.

Alas, the Champion lifted his rounded face to observe a tunnel-like structure he had ceased his turmoil in the presence of. Paled rocks formed an arch, seeming almost collided together in a constricting shape; moss was delicately dappled on its very top. But what had troubled Link the most was the undemanding _emptiness_ inside the arch's mouth. An emptiness that was _too_ empty to enter it care-free. Taking a glance behind to check on Snail- who looked sluggish as ever- he spotted no other inconsistencies around him. He took a few hasty steps inside the tunnel, warily darting his attention side-to-side and blowing some blonde strands away from his eyes.

The previously deemed "emptiness" was soon shattered. Tiny wings fluttered downward and rained onto Link's head, easily receiving a cowardly retreat from Snail. The shrill cry of these aerial monsters were immediately detected- _Keese_. Bat-like creatures that are very frail, but can certainly land damage in large groups.

If Link hadn't seen a group as large as this, he'd never been asleep for 100 years.

Making sure Snail was well out of the chaos, the Champion desperately thrashed his arms around to ward them off, but to little avail. This did allow him an instant to draw out a broadsword and grasp tightly on its hilt, but a few Keese still made its way to gnaw on his sides.

 _No time for recovery. One mistake and Hyrule may never escape Ganon's wrath._

Link ducked his head and slid away from the Keese, landing a few quick blows straight into two of them; the monsters shrieked and fell to the rocky floor like deadweight, eventually fading into a dark smog. A single swipe was all it took to kill the bats, but he had dozens to clear.

Scarlet specks littered the blonde's clothing and face, prompting him to flick a spot away with a trembling thumb. Keese, mysteriously, did not leave the entirety of their remains behind upon perish, nor did they shed blood. The culprit was just that- it was only his recklessness to blame this time, as he ended up more battered than the multitude of enemies he had faced.

It was becoming hard to breathe. Dark spots littered the corners of his vision as he scanned the path ahead. _Keese did not hold venom, did they?_ No. Impossible. Irrelevant.

The whirring of distant mechanics blighted his ears and caused them to pop. Link blinked several times, temporarily ridding himself of his vision's struggle to focus. A faint blue light was visible exactly where the noise resided. Its bell-like shape was unmistakable. Should the newlyfound Guardian turn its head, Link would be miles closer to death.

Oh?

Yet another light blurred in the distance, but not a foe. This light was yellow and bright, belonging to a lantern. Link huffed slightly in subjective relief when he could make out the figure of a traveler. It seemed to be that of a young man, wearing typical Hylian clothes. It was steadily walking his way, but Link was not sure if it could see him or not.

"Wh- _aah!"_

The Champion was nudged hard by a familar companion's muzzle. In a state of such weakness, he was heavily thrown off-guard and staggered onto his knees. Link cursed under his breath and whipped his head sideways to catch a glance of Snail awkwardly standing inches behind him. He had been so caught up in moving forward that his horse merely hung in his memory. Through the darkening sky Link could only examine Snail's condition so much, but enough to see it was well. He lifted a shaky arm to grasp onto his steed's pelt, and a leg to ascend his form, gaining a genuine wince across his face. His entire body throbbed in unison with a slowly elevating heartbeat. In the middle of recollecting himself, a kind voice blurted out to him. "Greetings, fellow traveler!," they bellowed. The man lifted his lantern upwards to seemingly observe Link, and flashed a wider grin, as if he had found something long searched for.

"Are you alright?" They proceeded to step closer to Link after the Champion remained unresponsive. Link could indeed talk, yet he stricted himself only to do so if needed. This traveler's growing suspicion lest he speak confirmed the need.

"Yes, fine," Link shakily breathed out. Among the few seconds of silence, the traveler shuffled an arm into a bulging bag. The blonde slightly tilted his head in confusion, exaggerating the motion as the man pulled out a bundle of Mighty Bananas. "Say," the traveler spoke again, "I've been looking for someone to get these off of my hands. We have plenty more at Yi-" He oddly cut himself off and cleared his throat. "Erm, buy these bananas!"

 _Yi... what?_ Link curiously reminisced. Either way, he was not interested. With the most sincere look he could muster, Link softly shook his head and said, "A-Apologies, but I don't need them.". He patted Snail's neck and hastily walked past him, but was cut short by a large hand on his shoulder. Link's breath hitched beneath his throat and forced himself to face the traveler with a nervous smile. The man's expression grew grim as he etched even closer to the blonde.

"What a shame.. But what not? What not a shame that I've stumbled upon the Hylian Chamion Link, the Yiga Clan's utmost target!"


End file.
